Earning her stripes: Natalie Cassidy arrived at the Novello Theatre last night looking sleek in a strapless frock

She arrived looking sleek in a black and white striped strapless dress that hugged her newly slimmed down frame, which is two and a half stone lighter than it once was.

But by night's end, after hitting Covent Garden's Tamarai nightclub followed by a 4:30am snack stop at Balans restaurant, she was a little bleary-eyed and worse for wear as she piled into the back of a cab.

The 24-year-old was clearly revelling in her night off after the months of discipline it took to drop four dress sizes.